Federal judge blocks health secretary’s childhood vaccine schedule

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A federal judge on Monday blocked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s childhood vaccine schedule.

The judge ruled that a January vaccine schedule overhaul did not go through the proper legal channels. The judge’s ruling also pauses any votes Kennedy’s advisory committee has taken since June, including the newborn Hepatitis B vaccine.

The new vaccine schedule would reduce the number of childhood shots from 18 to 11, including dropping recommendations that all babies be protected against Hepatitis A and B.

In a lawsuit, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups argued that the new recommendation and the remaking of the CDC advisory committee violated federal law.

The ruling is a setback for Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist.

“I’m happy. I’m happy now,” said Dr. Helena Bentley, a pediatrician and owner of Kidcare Pediatrics.

Bentley said the CDC’s constant changes mean spending extra time counseling patients.

“You got this government official saying this, but then you got the federal judges, which are government employees as well blocking, that can be confusing to a certain population of people,” she said. “So the burden is on us to try to convince them, or try to, and I won’t even say, convince, to really inform people, from a medical point of view,” said Bentley.

Bentley said the ruling could create clarity, or it might make it harder for people to know what to follow. She said she has seen fewer parents vaccinating their children.

HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said, “HHS looks forward to this judge’s decision being overturned just like his other attempts to keep the Trump administration from governing.”

Bentley responded to the statement, saying, “That’s what they say about everything that they’ve done. And they continue to waste resources, and they continue to waste time, in my personal opinion.”

“Vaccines are safe. The risk of severe side effects of vaccines is minuscule compared to the risk of complications from whatever disease we’re trying to prevent,” Bentley said. “Why put ourselves in a position for anybody to have severe complications or death to something that we can prevent?”

HHS said advisory meetings are postponed as a result of the ruling.